Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Book Review

I finished my 4th book of this summer the other day, The Scarlet Pimpernel. It was quite different from what I had expected. Here is a short review.

The Scarlet Pimpernel was written by Baroness Orczy. Orczy was born in Hungry but moved to England as a child and to Paris, France after her marriage. She contrived her idea for the Scarlet Pimpernel while in England. The story occurs in England during the French Revolution. In the story, The Scarlet Pimpernel, with a band of 20 loyal followers, rescue French Aristocrats from the guillotine. His identity is hidden from all but his 20 followers. The leaders of the revolution are determined to find and capture the Scarlet Pimpernel and so crush the resistance. The main character is the rich and popular Lady Marguerite Blackney, a french woman who came to England when she married an English Lord. Disappointed in her marriage Lady Blackeny clings to her brother, the only man she believes she still loves. When her brother is targeted by the revolutionaries as an enemy of the French Republic Marguerite is made to chose between saving the life of her brother or that of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Her decision leads her on a reckless adventure across England and France in pursuit of true love.

What surprised me about this book, besides the conclusion, was that it was a romance. I had thought it was an action and adventure novel. Although I don't always like romance I didn't mind the story because it had enough intrigue and excitement to keep it to keep me interested.